Celebrity Looks For Less

I’m A Guest Editor At nicole By Nicole Miller’s New Blog

The team over at Nicole Miller invited me to do a guest post for their new “nicole by Nicole Miller” blog, Nicole Daily, and I couldn’t be more excited! In addition to the blog, they also have a new website so that we can keep up with all the latest in their affordable fashion line sold exclusively at JC Penney.

For my guest post, Nicole Miller requested that I put together a few affordable holiday outfits, and no festive look would be complete without sequins, lace, and a little red nail polish. I hope you all will check out my blog post and let me know what you think. I’m BEYOND excited to be a guest editor for their new blog!

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Clarins FEED – Help Fight Hunger

Elle sent me a stylish gift that feeds the soul and I can’t wait to pick up a FEED pouch for my friends as well. For many children around the world, hunger is not only a daily struggle, it is life threateing. Every 5 seconds, a child dies from hunger, and over 350 million children go to bed hungry each night.

In collaboration with Lauren Bush, co-founder of FEED Projects, Clarins has created the FEED 15 pouch that will provide school children with nutritious meals through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Their aim is to feed 1 million underprivileged children in two years. Clarins FEED 15 Pouch (a $48 value for only $30) contains 3 discovery sizes of Clarins most iconic products, and feeds 15 school meals!

• Hand and Nail Treatment Cream
• Moisture-Rich Body Lotion
• Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector

The FEED pouch is available now at Clarins.com and Nordstrom in stores and online for only $30 (a $48 value). Give a charitable gift to your friends or yourself.

The Breakdown

Hello there lovely The Looks for Less readers. Jennifer and I have decided to pull a switcheroo with our blogs today. So, while I’m holding down the fort here, you’ll find her over at my blog, BonBon Rose Girls! We’ve decided to each feature an outfit styled around a coral pout. I’m currently head over heels in love with my Bobbi Brown Guava lipstick! It’s the most delicious coral hue and SO perfect for summer. I thought it would be fun to see if Jennifer could find a Guava look for less. So, make sure you pop over to BonBon Rose Girls to see what she came up with!

For my look today, I paired a Forever 21 tie dye frock with a Towne & Reese multi strand necklace that I won from Closet Fashionista, a Curly in the City oversized faux leather clutch and Dolce Vita for Target wedges.

As you can see, I’m totally crushing on citrus hues at the moment! What colors are y’all crushing on?

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Beauty Looks For Less – Lorac Eyeshdadow Dupe

The Breakdown

Welcome to our very first “Beauty Looks for Less”. I asked, and she delivered – I reached out to beauty blogger Thrifted Crayon to guest blog for our first eyeshadow dupe post, and she exceeded my expectations. Jenny, a professional artist, fashion connoisseur, and makeup lover chose to do a smokey eye with Lorac vs. Loreal and here are her comparisons and review:

Continue reading Beauty Looks For Less – Lorac Eyeshdadow Dupe »

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This smokey eye makeup tutorial is exactly what I’ve been looking for! It is titled “Summertime Smokies”, but it is seasonless in my opinion and is perfect for anyone looking for a neutral anytime smokey eye. This tutorial covers everything from shadow primer to the art of the smudge.

The mistake I always made was to apply light shadow first and then layer it with a darker shade. This tutorial shows you how to apply medium colors (on the outer 2/3 of your lid), then darker in the corner, and finally blend the light colors over that (inner 1/3 of lid and brow bone) so that you have no hard lines. So easy!

After I watched this video, I immediately ran to my bathroom mirror and had this look down in less than 10 minutes. I just worked with a brown eyeshadow quad and eyeshadow brushes that I had on hand in shades similar to those in the tutorial. It’s the perfect smokey eyed look seen on celebrities on and off the red carpet.

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Lately, I’ve been so adventurous! I generally browse websites and magazines, look at the pretty pictures, get inspired, and do nothing with that inspiration. Without thought, I guess I decided to start taking action because I realized I’ve been doing a lot more reviews lately.

Mac Paint Pots Detail – “A highly pigmented eye colour that goes on creamy but dries to an intense, vibrant finish. Long-wearing, colourfast. Creates seamless coverage without weight or caking. Blends smoothly over the lids. Cream-based, can be mixed with M·A·C shadows and liners.” – MacCosmetics.com

Review – Often I end up on YouTube for more time than I care to admit watching hair and makeup tutorials. My favorites are the eyeshadow how-tos and they all start out by applying a primer. I finally took action! I’m a mostly-Mac eyeshadow kinda girl, so on a recent visit to the Mac counter, I decided to pick up a Paint Pot. Paint Pots come in a variety of colors to help set your eyeshadow so that it does not settle into the crease of your lids by the end of the day. It goes on creamy, but dries similar to foundation so that eyeshadow glides easily over it. It really locks in the shadow and showcases it more true to color. The day I attempted the Paint Pot, I ran home to check my shadow in the mirror at the end of the day and it was just as fresh as I had applied it in the morning. No shiny creasy color. I absolutely love this product and wish I had attempted it long ago! If you’ve tried this product, please comment to let us know what you think.

Availability – $16.50 from MacCosmetics.com

What I Love

• If you want to go for a smokey eye, try a Paint Pot in a dark color to serve as a base for the shadow.
• For everyday looks, I went for a skintone color to help set my shadow. The color that best matches my skin tone is Painterly.
• Paint Pots are perfect for long wearing true eyeshadow color with no greasy creasies at the end of the day.

Good To Know

• Update – This probably should have been common sense due to the cream consistency of this product, but I left the top off and now it is all dried out! The entire product has separated from the edge of the container and is impossible to apply. With that said, I still think this primer is worth purchasing again… lesson learned.

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Makeup – St. Patrick’s Day Smokey Green Eyeshadow

Update: Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! I attempted this look today and it’s obviously not as good as the original since I’m no makeup artist, but I had a blast wearing my green glitter today. I wore it to the office, so I used a nude base, vs. the black smokey eye in the tutorial. I also found a glitter sticker at Michael’s, so that saved me a bunch of time this morning since I did not have to paint it on. Loved the look and I didn’t get pinched :) I definitely want to try this again with different colors for other holidays, or just for a fun night out – maybe with some gold or silver glitter.

PS – I need to figure out my camera settings already. I don’t know how they come out grainy and blurry at the same time, haha. Wish you could see the detail better.

Original Post – March 3rd:

I found this video last year right after St. Patrick’s Day, so I’ve been waiting nearly a year to attempt this look. St. Patricks day is coming up on Wednesday March 17th, so you have plenty of time to stock up on glitter and eyeshadow for your night out. I’m thinking about wearing this all day (wake up super early before work), so I don’t get pinched :) Thanks @kuuipo1207 for another amazing look.

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It seems as though the older I get, the more I break out… I thought I’d have outgrown this after my schoolgirl days. Buuuuuut, no!!! I decided it was finally time to switch up my hodgepodge of “drugstore, meets facialist, meets department store” skincare routine. For years, I used Clean & Clear Continuous Control ACNE Cleanser, which kept me clean and clear for nearly a decade, but not so much anymore! I had paired it with Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, but this yellow moisturizer started to feel a little heavy on my skin.

Finally, I hit the skin care aisle of my local pharmacy and stood there reading bottles of lotions and potions for about half an hour. For my daily cleanser, I picked up Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser ($8.99 at Amazon.com). It gets off every bit of makeup, including mascara, without stripping my skin. This is a soap and oil-free cleanser that is gentle enough to use every day, even on sensitive skin. After a couple of uses, I started to get that deep cleaning tingle and my skin has finally cleared up. As the bottle says, it truely does “bring out skin’s natural radiance and even out skin tone and texture. Come to find out, this cleanser was an InStyle magazine editor’s pick for great skin in your 30s and was named an “Allure Best of Beauty” for 2009!

I went to see a dermatologist for the first time recently and she suggested that I use Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer after washing my face. It is literally “dermatologist recommended”! I opted for the SPF 15 formula ($10.99 at Amazon.com) because I am seriously avoiding skin damage (aka – the sun) these days. I am so lucky that I do not have fine lines or crows feet just yet, and I’d like to keep it that way. Cetaphil is a lightweight non-greasy moisturizer that hydrates while protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful rays.

After washing with Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser and moisturizing with Cetaphil, my skin feels so clean and my “problem areas” have definitely improved. These skin care products are much more accessible and less expensive than some of the products I was getting from a facialist and department stores… and I can’t believe they work better! In addition to these two products, I exfoliate and use a facial self-tanner two to three times a week.

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Update: Thanks for helping me decide on my new do. I posted this poll a couple of months ago, but when the Rihanna do won, I decided to wait until the beginning of the year so that I could keep it long throughout winter. I went almost as short as Rihanna because I didn’t want to go into shock, but I’m going back for a bit shorter when I am in the mood for spring. The back is completely gone, almost buzzed, and there there are long pieces in the front. Thanks again for helping me decide and I will post more pics soon.

November 1, 2009: This makes me so freakin nervous, but I trust my readers. I’m in need of a change and I’m ready for a new do. I can’t decide between taking it all off Rihanna style, or just some shaggy Kate Moss layers. I used to have super short, Halle Berry style hair and grew it all out for my wedding. I’ve gone to the hair dresser a couple of times since then to cut it off, but for some reason, my heart starts to race.

For the past decade, I’ve had every version of short hair, and for some reason, I’ve become so chicken lately. In fact, my hairdresser used to save magazine covers for me knowing that of his clients, I’d be the only one that would go for it. Now he just laughs at me when I freak out. I hope I have the nerve to go through with whatever you all decide for me. Please vote below.

Which cut should I get?

• Rihanna's Short Rocker Chic Bob (57% - 104 votes)
• Kate Moss's Carefree Long Layers (43% - 94 votes)

 

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